


Strawberries

by isaytheenay



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M, more fluff than anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-27
Updated: 2013-06-27
Packaged: 2017-12-16 07:31:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/859518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isaytheenay/pseuds/isaytheenay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim sends Bones out to fetch something to eat, putting his devilish plan into place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strawberries

Bones never expected his first chance at saving a life would go this way.

It was his second year at the academy. Of course he had plenty of experience already in the field of medicine, but a lot of his practices at the academy had been staged. People would pass out left and right, come in with burns colored with markers, run around with a multitude of things plastered on their face for students to identify symptoms and diagnose the condition. Practice for the interns, they said, introducing “real-life scenarios” to the students. Bones thought it was bullshit, but he kept it to himself. The last thing he needed was an outspoken reputation like Jim’s.

And speaking of Jim… Bones growled beneath his breath, hefting the heavy bag filled with lunch fit for three people, though it was only for himself and the bastard back at the academy. Jim ate like no tomorrow, and frankly, he wouldn’t be surprised if Jim had eaten whatever stock was left in the fridge while waiting for him. He knew his patience when it came to food was fairly thin. However, at this point, Bones would shove the chicken chow mein down his throat just to make himself feel the trip was worth it.

Jim hadn’t wanted just any Chinese food. He wanted the “good stuff”, right in the dead center of the downtown area. Bones, originally noncompliant and stubborn, had somehow by the hand of whatever damned god there was been persuaded to take the hour long trek there and back. Or, it _would_ have taken an hour if the line wasn’t about ten customers long and the cashier hadn’t been a total dick about his order.  Not to mention the uncomfortable bus ride there which included him being half-sat on by a rather ignorant orion who insisted that nearly crushing his food wasn’t that big of a deal. Getting off of that bus must’ve been the highlight of his year.

Now back on the safe ground without being overwhelmed with claustrophobia, Bones made his way back. Switching the nearly-ripped bag to his other hand, he walked up the steep hill towards the academy, forcing himself to take deep breaths and count to ten when he felt himself nearly lose it. He glanced inside the usual Chinese place they got food as he passed it. Two people in line. Nice customer service. Better than average food. And if anything he’d have been home at least forty-five minutes ago.

He set his sights on the room Jim was in, now entering the campus and walking across the field towards the dormitories. Jim would get an earful of the shit he went through when he got back. He’d make sure of it.

 

\---------

Grabbing the bowl of strawberries from the fridge, Jim – his face in a never-ending grin – walked out into the hallway, looking around to find someone. Anyone who would do him a simple favor. He walked through the hallway for a bit, knocking on a few doors and heading towards the lounge area. It was there he found a fellow cadet, reading a textbook and keeping to himself. Jim approached him, grinning. “Hey, you wanna do me a favor?”

The cadet looked up, eyed the strawberries, but didn’t mention them at first. “Uh… what’s that?”

“I need you to bite into one of these.”

The cadet was quiet for a long time. “Look, Jim,” he stared, shifting in his chair, “I don’t want to offend you, but I trust you with a random bowl of strawberries as much as I trust a klingon with a random phaser.”

“Aw, c’mon!” Jim pleaded, trying to put on a winning smile. He pulled out a strawberry and waved it in front of the cadet, who pulled away slightly.

“If it’s so _safe,_ why don’t you eat it?”

“Can’t, I’m allergic.” He shrugged. “That’s the point; I’m pullin’ a little stunt on Bones. Now you’ve _gotta_ help me out.” He gestured to the strawberry again. “Just one bite.”

The cadet looked uncomfortable again, though he seemed to be thinking about it more than before. “I don’t know, Jim, if Bones finds out that I helped you—”

“He won’t. So c’mon,” he urged. “One bite.”

 

\---------

 

The elevator opened, and Bones stepped out, his temper only as calm as he could make it. Meaning, he wasn’t calm at all.

Wisely, people avoided him. An angry Bones was never someone to cross. One cadet hung his head particularly low, flattening himself against the wall when Bones approached him and consequently passed him. He turned the corner sharply and strode down to the room, tapping in the code harder than he should have to enter. The door opened and shut promptly as he walked in, leaving him free to shout whatever the hell he wanted.

“Here,” he started loudly, his voice raised so there was no doubt, awake or asleep, that Jim could hear him, “is your goddamned Chinese food from the _right_ restaurant!” He practically tossed the bag onto the dining table (not too hard; he’d have for all the hard work to go to waste if all the food fell on the floor).

There wasn’t a response, and Bones frowned. “Jim?” He walked back to the bedroom and glanced around. Well, Jim had at least gotten out of bed. The sheets were mussed and crumpled on one side of the bed. He rested his hand on the bed, feeling the slight warmth left there. It hadn’t been too long, then. He called for him again, knowing for a fact that Jim promised not to leave and tempt himself with other food while he was getting the Chinese. If there was one thing Bones could (most times) hold Jim to was keeping a promise.

Leaving the bedroom, he looked around again, his frown set deeper as confusion rose. Where was he? He finally went into the adjoined kitchen just beyond the dining area, looking at the island table to search for a note. Only when he looked did he finally catch a glimpse of the fridge left open, and something on the floor around the table.

Jim.

Bones rushed around the counter, dropping to the ground beside him. He looked around, panic rising faster than he’d ever experienced it before. “Shit…” he muttered, grabbing Jim’s shoulders, shaking him. He vaguely felt his eyes sting with what were likely tears, but a quick swipe of his sleeve took care of that for now.

“Jim!” He shook him again, leaning over him and somewhat-gently tapping his face, trying to get him to come to. “Jim, wake up, damn it! Open your eyes!” He glanced up, trying to figure out what was wrong with him, then he spotted it; as damning as the apple in Snow White, there it lay. A strawberry on the floor, right beside his hand, with one bite taken out of it. Leave it to Jim to forget the things he was allergic to. It looked like he’d dropped the entire bowl after his assumed reaction to the fruit, as more were scattered about him.

His voice ragged, Bones cursed again and again under his breath, now taking Jim’s chin in one hand and tilting his head back with the other. “Please be breathing, Jim, don’t do this… Please be breathing…” He leaned in, held his own breath, and waited.

Waited some more.

Silence.

“Fuck.” He had to keep calm. Jim was counting on him. He pulled away for a moment, his hands working on their own as he opened Jim’s airway as best as he could again. He had to call the EMTs; relying on the voice-activated computer in the room, he called out, “Call the emergency unit!” His focus back on Jim, he knew then he’d have to give him CPR until the medics arrived. He nearly leaned over to start the resuscitation, but stopped. The computer hadn’t responded.

“Hello?” He frowned, concerned. “Great, now _that’s_ not working…” The panic inside of him was worsening, and he realized then that he was on his own. Jim was in trouble and there was no professional help on their way. His chest felt tight and his stomach was knotting. This was real. It was happening. It wasn’t a test, and there was no grade. Life or death, and he had to act.

With Jim in position, he leant down, barely inches away, and without thinking he closed his eyes, praying to any god or higher power that Jim would wake up.

And Jim did wake up alright. Just not the way Bones thought he would.

Ready to give him air, he finally found the courage to give mouth-to-mouth to him. However, what he didn’t expect was for Jim to suddenly come back to life, reaching up and holding his face with one hand while leaning up and kissing him. Bones had snapped his eyes open in shock and closed his mouth by pure instinct. Jim was… kissing him.

Jim was alive.

Jim was _faking._

“You son of a _bitch!!_ ” He pulled back, sitting upright, rigid, his fists clenched tight with shock, anger, and even relief. He’d never admit the last one, though.

Jim sat up on his elbows, laughing. “What? C’mon, Bones, it was hilarious—”

“Hilarious my _ass_ , Jim!” He was practically shrieking with grief, his hands waving around, at one point reaching dangerously close to Jim’s throat. It took every last ounce of willpower to not strangle the life right out of Jim – _properly._

“Oh, Bones, don’t be such a stiff!” His head fell back as he laughed. “Jesus, you were really gonna go the whole nine yards, huh? Give me CPR and beat on my chest—”

“Good idea, Jim,” and with that, he smacked Jim’s chest, knocking him to the floor with a groan of pain. It was rewarding only for about two seconds when Jim’s stupid laughter started bubbling up again.

“Christ, you’re gonna kill me…” Jim curled on his side, covering his chest with his arms. He curled up on his side and put on a classic pout. “That hurt…”

“You’ve got no damned idea how great killing you sounds right about now.” Bones stood, running his hands through his hair and pacing through the living room. “God, Jim, y’know I thought you were… going through some serious allergic reaction, you weren’t even breathing, you ate a goddamn _strawberry_ …”

Jim had stood by now, dusting himself off and collecting all the strawberries to put in the bowl. “Actually, I got a cadet to take the bite for me.”

“… and then you, you go off and stage it and make me nearly shit myself because I thought you’d just _collapsed_ or something…”

“I actually tried to make it lifelike; I literally took the bowl and fell to the floor.” He rubbed his side idly. “It really hurt, actually.”

“… and of course, the intercom-system-voice-recognition-thing doesn’t even work! I swear to god, of all the times to fail it just _had_ to be when you were on the ground _dying_ …”

“Well, I kinda messed with the system, shut it down for an hours. I put a lot of effort into this y’know.”

“… and what do I find out? That you’re _fine_ and you’re _alive_ and I’m so _pissed_ at you, Jim! There aren’t enough words I could use to tell you how _angry_ I am that you’re fucking _alive!”_

Jim smirked, amused with Bones’ ranting. “Really? Most people are glad to find out the other person’s alive.”

“Well then let me give you a newsflash, Jim,” he walked right up to Jim, pointing his finger in his face, his hand literally shaking with restrained anger. “I. Am. Not. Happy.”

Jim gave him a suspicious look. “C’mon,” he drawled, his smile unwavering. “I know you’ve got it in you.”

Bones’ hand clenched into a fist again, and he opened it again, his eyes briefly flickering to his neck. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and counted to ten in his mind. He could’ve ripped Jim’s head off when he stole yet another kiss from him.

But, thinking better of ripping his head off, he merely grabbed Jim’s shirt, fisting it in his hands tightly, and murmured, “When you die, it will be by my hands.”

Jim gave him a small salute. “Roger that, captain.”

Bones forced himself to let him go, stepping back. “Good god, you’re the most irritating son of a bitch…”

Jim grinned, following after him as he walked back to the bedroom. Bones knew damn well that he was following, and the moment he got into the room, he slammed the door behind him. Jim stopped short, rolling his eyes. “Hey, what gives?” Bones was silent on the opposite side, so Jim, ever polite as always, knocked. “C’mon, open up, Bones…”

“Oh, go eat a strawberry, you dick,” came the half-muffled reply. Jim laughed and idly wondered if Bones was trying to kill himself with the pillow.

**Author's Note:**

> Something my good friend inspired me to write today <3 First Trek fic I've written, so I'm hoping it's good. :| Lots of improvisation here. XD


End file.
